Strong looking Cork fancied to beat Kerry in dress rehearsal for Munster final

Cork v Kerry

Wednesday, April 17 Pairc Uí Chaoimh, Cork

WITH the overwhelming probability, following the opening round results, that Cork and Kerry will come face-to-face in the provincial U-20 football decider in a fortnight’s time, there is a sense of a ‘phoney war’ about this Wednesday’s meeting of the sides at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (7pm).

Most certainly, this clash of the two Munster heavyweights in the Phase 2 Round 2 encounter doesn’t have the winner-takes-all knock-out nature of when they met last season but, at the same time, neither will want to cede ground to their biggest local rivals.

Crucially, however, after the Kingdom and the Rebels recorded reasonably comfortable victories over Clare and Tipperary, respectively, last week, this game will provide both Tomás Ó Sé and Ray O’Mahony with a serious gut-check at a moment when they both need to be properly tested.

The general consensus doing the rounds is that this is a highly competent Cork outfit, under the guidance of their former minor supremo. Admittedly, they didn’t pull up any trees against the Premier county on the 4G surface at Fethard Town Park, but they were always in control.

Leading by five points at the interval, 0-8 to 0-3, they pushed that cushion out to seven by the final whistle, 0-14 to 0-7, in difficult weather conditions. Captain Hugh O’Connor, at centre-forward, and midfielder Rory O’Shaughnessy, were excellent, contributing 0-8 between them.

O’Mahony has promoted six of last year’s minors into the squad, with Mallow wing-back Gearoid Daly and the precocious Bantry Blues attacker Dara Sheedy already cementing first fifteen spots. The latter, in particular, looks an outstanding prospect.

Kerry will also be fairly satisfied with their eleven-point triumph, 1-13 to 0-5, in Quilty. Against the gale-force wind in the first half, they were buttressed by Charlie Keating’s goal. With Cormac Dillon producing a superb attacking display, they also kept Clare scoreless on the resumption.

Luke Crowley’s impact off the bench at the start of the second half was hugely significant, and it will be interesting to see if the Glenflesk powerhouse is drafted into Wednesday’s line-up. Paddy Lane will also come into contention, as Kerry look to reduce the scoring expectation on Dillon.

All in all, getting a favourable result won’t be the be-all and endall for Cork and Kerry on the night, but putting together a more than decent performance certainly will be. Indeed, one could argue that the team that loses will be in the better position heading into the final. With home advantage, Cork can draw first blood.

VERDICT: Cork